S. 25, the South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act

Summary

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 14, 2013

S. 25 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer title to the electric distribution system located in Spanish Fork, Utah, to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. Enacting S. 25 would have an insignificant impact on direct spending; therefore pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The legislation would not affect revenues.

The electric distribution system was developed as part of the Strawberry Valley Project in the 1920s. The Strawberry Water Users Association, the nonfederal sponsor of the project, satisfied all federal repayment obligations associated with the project in 1974. In 1986, the Bureau of Reclamation transferred financial responsibility for operating and maintaining the system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District. Under current law, the bureau oversees those activities.

Under S. 25, the Bureau of Reclamation would no longer oversee the facilities or collect licensing fees from utilities seeking easements. Based on information from the bureau, CBO estimates that the loss of those collections would not be significant.

S. 25 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.